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Angel Olsen – Eyes Without A Face

Angel Olsen has taken a break from making radio-friendly indie-pop janglers to cover five AAA 80s anthems on new EP Aisles. Like a lot of covers, the less committed you are to the original the more you’re likely to enjoy these: I’m least familiar with Billy Idol’s Eyes Without A Face than anything else on here, and for me her reworking is the clear stand out, with just the right amount of breathy dirge. On the other hand, the mere fact that she’s had a crack at Alphaville’s heartbreaking masterpiece Forever Young is utterly despicable.

https://angelolsen.com

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Shawn Rudiman – Numeric Tenderness

This came out all the way back in January, so not exactly hot off the presses by any means, but then you’re not following this blog for its comprehensiveness, are you? It’s pretty ridiculous I missed not only this, but an entire album since, given how much I liked Shawn Rudiman’s previous album Conduit, but anyway: this is brilliant, sinewy modular techno, pulsing with barely restrained aggression and I absolutely love it.

https://itma.bandcamp.com/album/flow-state

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Music

Claire Bigley – Awaken The Deep

It’s Friday right, so really I should be posting something party-appropriate to soundtrack your #bignightout but I now live in Devon so instead here’s a short ambient piano track complete with birdsong: perfect for watching the sun go down over some rolling fields or gently lapping beachside waves.

https://www.instagram.com/endlessquest4me

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Princess Century – Stupid Things

Stupid Things is taken from s u r r e n d e r, the upcoming third full-length record from Princess Century AKA Canadian musician and producer Maya Postepski which was written following a break-up with her girlfriend and is – according to Postepski – “a feeling album, not a thinking album”. Stupid Things itself is engrossingly subdued electro-pop, sitting comfortably in the space between abject devastation and tentative optimism, the rallying cry of “got to dance it away” a final, desperate act to free yourself from the heartache of the past.

https://princesscentury.com

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Music

Willy Mason – Gilded Lie

Willy Mason is younger than me, but sounds like he’s had about a billion more years worth of life experience. His voice, worn and occasionally cracked but also soft and occasionally sumptuous, suggests he’s seen a lot, suffered a fair amount and is bang up for telling you all about it. Taken from his new album Already Dead, Gilded Lie is great for the first few minutes, before becoming overwhelmingly, staggeringly brilliant for the final 30 seconds or so when ghostly synths and a gently strummed guitar combine perfectly to make you (or me, at least) burst into tears.

https://www.willymasonmusic.com

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Music

Big Thief – Little Things

Little Things is one of two new tracks released by US indie rock darlings Big Thief this week, the first new music since 2019’s Two Hands – one of two albums they put out that year. Driven forward by a propulsive rhythm, it’s a big emotional wallop round the head that it’s impossible not to get caught up in, thanks to shifting drum patterns, meandering, increasingly intense guitars and singer Adrianne Lenker’s urgent, confessional vocal.

https://bigthief.net

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Music

Me Lost Me – Acrobat On The Roof

Electronic folk innovator, recent Paul Hamlyn Foundation award winner and TPW favourite, Me Lost Me’s latest single is taken from her forthcoming EP The Circle Dance and comes accompanied by a kaleidoscopic music video filmed on location at Sunderland’s Penshaw Monument. Gently haunting and instantly compelling, like much of her work Acrobat On The Roof seamlessly blends the old with the new, creating something unique, timeless and understatedly beautiful.

https://www.melostme.com

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Baltra – Dreaming of a Disco

I very rarely miss clubbing these days. It all just feels like a bit too much effort and the recovery time is just way too hideous to contemplate. Gigs are fine as you can can be home at a reasonable time (yes, I’m aware how old and boring this makes me sound: I’m ok with this) and festivals are different, and worth it. But clubbing isn’t something I’ve yearned for during lockdown in the same way I would have a few years ago. But then records like this come along and I feel almost sick with desire to be all fucked up in a club with a load of other sweaty people, fingers clutching a bottle of water, a mindless grin slapped all over my big stupid face.

https://baltra.bandcamp.com

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Ishmael Ensemble – Feather

Helmed by producer and saxophonist Pete Cunningham, the Bristol-based Ishmael Ensemble’s announced themselves as a new force in UK jazz with their 2019 debut A State Of Flow, a record I completely missed as I am vehemently opposed to anything jazzy, or jazz-related. Until now it seems, as I absolutely love their new album Visions Of Light, and Feather in particular which is amongst the more beautifully chill things I’ve heard for ages. It would actually be easier if this record didn’t exist as I was quite happy in my jazz-ignoring bubble, but here we are.

http://ishmaelensemble.com

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Jan Esbra – Eternally Recurring

Eternally Recurring is the lead single from New York City-based Colombian guitarist and composer Jan Esbra’s forthcoming debut album Temporary Objects: a collection of 10 improvisations and spontaneous compositions that draws influence from a variety of artists including Steve Reich, Pauline Oliveros, Blank For.ms and Lightbath. Created using guitars, samplers and various effects pedals, it’s incredibly minimalistic and initially stark – clinical even – but over time starts to exude a real warmth and depth of character that completely draws you in.

https://www.janesbra.com/epk